


Kneepads

by slof



Series: Christmas Fics [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Christmas Presents, How Do I Tag, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kuroo is dumb and gay, M/M, Nekoma, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Volleyball, Volleyball Dorks in Love, Yaku is soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:07:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21836440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slof/pseuds/slof
Summary: Christmas Prompt: Character A overhears Character B’s Christmas wish and decides to fulfill it.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Yaku Morisuke
Series: Christmas Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1572310
Comments: 4
Kudos: 65





	Kneepads

**Author's Note:**

> I have 12 different ships with 12 different writing prompts that I got from here!
> 
> https://alloftheprompts.tumblr.com/post/134418796558/25-days-christmas-romance-challenge
> 
> This one is fic #2

Tetsurou raised his arms high in the air, fingers clasped together as he stretched. His shoes felt a little tight, and Tetsurou kicked his foot against his other to loosen it up. Being satisfied with the fit of his sneakers, Tetsurou headed to the volleyball net to make sure everything was all good. The net was up high, the poles on the side were lined up with the white line that lined the volleyball court, the net stood straight.

As he pulled down on the bottom of the net, he overheard a conversation.

“Christmas gifts?” Morisuke repeated when Kenma had asked him about it. It was December, Christmas almost right around the corner. Kenma was asking about what he wanted. Not because Kenma was the type of person to get somebody something. No, it was more like Kenma just wanted to know simply because he was curious. 

“I’m not sure,” Morisuke said. He spun the ball in his hand and stared at it while searching his mind to try and grab something. What did he want for Christmas? Morisuke himself was curious. He hadn’t really thought about it. “Maybe new kneepads.”

“You didn’t get new ones this year?” Morisuke shook his head, and Kenma turned his head in question. “You’re a libero. In reality, you’re the one who always _needs_ new kneepads.”

“I know, but,” Morisuke stopped the ball in his hands and stared down at it, “my mom tried to get me new ones this year though money is tight.”

“I see,” Kenma mumbled. “Well, let’s begin practice, Yaku.” 

* * *

Tetsurou chewed on the inside of his cheek. His fingers drummed against his desk as he sat in class. His seat was in the middle and a little to the left of the classroom. God, he wished he was near the windows. 

He couldn’t clear his mind off of what Kenma and Morisuke were talking about at practice yesterday.

Morisuke needed a new pair of kneepads. Since Morisuke was the libero of the team Tetsurou was a captain of, he wanted to get him some; since Morisuke was one of the many things that made the Nekoma boy’s volleyball club great, Tetsurou wanted to get him a brand new set of protection for his knees; since Morisuke was his stupid ass crush since their first year of high school together, Tetsurou needed to get him a new pair of kneepads.

Well, now Tetsurou had something to do after practice. That’s all he thought about all day until he got there. 

* * *

Kenma was getting lazier as the practice carried on. It was almost to an end.

“Come on, Kenmaaa,” Tetsurou drew out as he spoke while wrapping an arm on the shorter, tried man’s shoulder. He reached over with a grin and poked him in the soft cheek. “We have ten minutes left.”

“I just want to go home,” Kenma mumbled.

“I know.”

“A new video game just came out and here I am.” Kenma let out a sigh. “Practicing volleyball with an annoying bedhead bitch like you.”

“Hey, I’m _your_ annoying bedhead bitch.”

“I don’t want you.”

“That’s kind of rude.”

“I don’t care.” Kenma gave one glare to Tetsurou before he looked at the cart of volleyballs. “Go with Yaku or something.”

“Yakkun?” Tetsurou turned his head like a lost puppy. “What about him?” His head turned in question even more, and Tetsurou began to look around the gym for Morisuke. There the short libero stood in his practicing clothes on the other side of the court yelling at Lev for something. 

“Don’t act like I’m stupid, Kuroo.” Kenma rolled his eyes. “You told me ages ago you had a thing for him.”

Tetsurou shrugged like it was nothing. “So?” He asked. Kenma raised an eyebrow since he _knew_ there was much more to it. Tetsurou sighed and leaned against the pole of the volleyball net. “Yakkun is an attractive guy. What can I say?”

“You could probably, like, ask him out or something instead of staring at him randomly like a fucking idiot.”

“Hey!” Tetsurou frowned. “I don’t stare at him,” he quietly said. 

“Yeah, right.” Kenma picked up a volleyball that rolled over near his feet. “Let’s hurry up and finish this.”

  
  


* * *

“Hey, hey, Kenma.”

“What?” Kenma sounded annoyed. _Really_ annoyed. He didn’t even look at Tetsurou as he walked down the snowy sidewalk on their way home. Instead, he continued to stare down at his Nintendo while clicking away on the buttons. To Tetsurou, it seemed random, meanwhile, to Kenma? It was almost professional. 

Tetsurou had to keep a hand on his back in order to guide him down the sidewalk so he didn’t trip on anything. Kenma’s mind seemed to block out everything else when he went into his video games.

His hand balled up on the back of Kenma’s jacket and pulled him to a stop.

“Kuroo, what the hell--”

“One, I want to stop at this store. Two, there’s a huge ass patch of ice right in front of you.” Kenma finally looked up from his game at the snowy, icy sidewalk in front of him. He looked back at Tetsurou then back at his game.

“Make it quick.”

Tetsurou had Kenma sit down on a bench in the small store. It was a sports store, so there were benches on the walls where people could sit to try things on like braces, shoes, _kneepads_. 

_‘Smalls. Would Yakkun wear smalls? Extra smalls? How do knee sizes work?’_

“Kuroo, what are you doing?” Tetsurou’s shoulders stiffened, and he looked over at Kenma. The pudding haired boy was looking up from his Nintendo for what seemed like only the second time that day, staring at Tetsurou as he stood near the section of kneepads.

“Huh? Nothing. Pay attention to your game.”

“Well, now, I’m interested in whatever you’re doing.”

“What do you mean?” Tetsurou raised an eyebrow as if he were innocent.

“You hate kneepads.” Kenma clicked off his game and slid it into his pocket. “You’re buying some for Yaku, aren’t you?”

“No.” Tetsurou grabbed the pair of small kneepads. He turned them over and rubbed his thumb on them. The fabric felt amazingly soft. Perfect for Morisuke. “Maybe. Shut up.”

“You’re so soft and gay for him.”

“Kenma, I will throw your Nintendo out a window.”

“And I would bite you in your goddamn neck if you try and grab it.” Kenma had placed a hand protectively over the pocket he had slipped his greatest possession into. “Listen, just get the kneepads.” Tetsurou didn’t respond, but instead, he still stared down at the black, padded cloth. “Those fit me. They would work for him.” 

Tetsurou sighed, “Let’s go.” 

* * *

Tetsurou had the kneepads inside a wrapped gift box in his locker. It stayed there from the day he got it to the last day of school before winter break; the box sat at the top of his locker gathering dust. 

“Just give it to him.” Tetsurou quickly turned as he tugged on the collar of his shirt. Practice was just about to begin. Most of the team was already out into the gym. The only exception was Kenma who was waiting for Tetsurou. 

“What?”

“You’re just staring at it, and this is your last day to give it to him. Give him the damn kneepads.”

“I will after practice.” Tetsurou slammed his clubroom locker shut. “Let’s go.”

Nekoma was doing a five-on-five practice. 

The teams were Tetsurou, Tamahiko, Shouhei, Yuuki, and Nobuyuki.

The other team was Kenma, Morisuke, Lev, Sou, and Taketora. 

Tetsurou dove for the ball, his knees skipping against the gym floor. He was used to the quick pinching feeling that turned into a burn afterward. The ball hit over to the other side on Tetsurou’s receive. The first receive. His recieve made the ball fly right over Tamahiko’s head to the other side.

“Shit. My bad!” Tetsurou called out. Sometimes receiving a ball like that was the only thing you can do; setting up to spike was sometimes impossible. Especially when Taketora was spiking the ball which was who Tetsurou had to unluckily receive the ball from.

Tetsurou’s eyes watched as Morisuke received the ball on the other side. Holy shit why was his form literally so perfect? The ball went beautifully to Kenma. 

Then before he knew it, the ball went straight back to him. 

Tetsurou felt the impact hit him straight in the face. Before he hit the ground, he felt a warm line run down past his lips. His back hit the gym floor, and he stared up, eyes straining to stare at the ceiling from the lights

It had been so long since Lev had hit him in the face with a volleyball to knock him to his ass and give him a nosebleed.

“Kuroo!”  
“Captain!”  
“Dude!” 

So many names called out to him, so many pairs of feet ran to his side. 

“Kuroo, are you alright?”

“Senpai! I’m so sorry!” Tetsurou felt a hand on his back slowly helping him sit up. A cloth pinched around his nose, and another hand held the back of his head. The first pair of eyes he was staring into were Lev’s. He wouldn’t stop apologizing.

“It’s fine, Lev. I’m good,” Tetsurou tried to reassure. 

“Kai, would you take Kuroo to the nurse’s office?” Nekomata spoke. 

“No, no,” Tetsurou interrupted. “Not Kai. He’s on the same team as I am. Someone on the other team.” Tetsurou stood with the help of Lev, Nobuyuki, and what little of what Kenma did. It was Morisuke who had the cloth pinched on his nose. Tetsurou had only noticed that it was Morisuke when the arm that was stretched up to reach his face struggled to actually reach. “So that you can continue practice.”

“Take Yaku with you then,” Nekomata said. Before Tetsurou could even begin to protest, Kenma, as the vice-captain and the friend who was trying to shove together his friend with his crush, took action.

“Good idea. Get out of here so we can continue practice.”

Morisuke had one hand on his back that guided him out the gym and down the hall. The other hand reached up to continue to tightly hold the cloth over his nose. 

“Yakkuunn.” Tetsurou’s voice sounded funny but only because his nose was pinched. “You don’t have to do this for me.”

“Shut up. You’re bleeding.”

“At least just take me to the locker room. I mean, there’s a first AID kit there.” Morisuke sighed. “Pleaseee?” He sighed again, but he still changed direction in where he was heading. 

Morisuke set Tetsurou down on one of the benches in the locker room. He headed to the cabinet and grabbed out the first AID kit. Three years in this club and you bet your ass he knew where it was. He didn’t get hurt often. Hell, Morisuke lasted most of his high school volleyball career without getting injured, but other people got hurt like crazy. Takemoto and Tetsurou? Idiots. Idiots all the time.

There wasn’t much that Morisuke could do beside from shove some sticks of cotton up his nose. He put a bandage on the bridge of his nose and backed up to look at Tetsurou’s face, observing his work.

“Wow, you don’t even need to lean down to be at eye level with me while I’m sitting.”

“Kuroo, I will kick the shit out of you.”

“I know you will.” Tetsurou grinned, but his smile dropped when he remembered the present in his locker. It was just the two of them. Was this a good time? “Hey, stay there for a second.” Tetsurou stood up and headed to his locker. He knew that if he didn’t do this now, he probably never would. 

His fingers rubbed the sides of the box as he walked to sit back down. Morisuke didn’t take his eyes off of him for a second as he moved quietly around the lockerroom. 

“What is that?” Morisuke asked. He asked quickly. Nervously? 

“Open it.” Tetsurou handed him the box. “Merry Christmas.”

“‘Merry Christmas’?” Morisuke raised an eyebrow while taking the box. “You really got me a Christmas present?” 

Tetsurou shrugged, “Why not?”

“You’re an idiot. I didn’t get you anything.”

“You don’t need to. Sit down. Open it.” Tetsurou patted down on the seat next to him. Morisuke sighed, and when he did, Tetsurou could swear some color came to his face. His cheeks grew a little bit more red than they were already from practice. 

He set the box down at his lap and stared at it.

“Yakkun, I know you’re short and all but that shouldn’t stop you from opening--” Morisuke stomped on Tetsurou’s foot which didn't hurt the bedhead nearly as badly as he thought it would.

“Shut up or I’m throwing this out the window.” Tetsurou put a hand in front of his lips, his hand moved to the left until he twisted a fake lock and tossed the imaginary key. Morisuke rolled his eyes and began to finally open the box.

The libero didn’t have words as he pulled out the kneepads. He stared down at it as he rubbed the soft, black fabric. Turning it over to the back of it, then to the front, then back to the back again, Morisuke stared at it as if he couldn’t believe they were real.

“Yaku? You alright?”

“Did you--” Morisuke’s throat seemed dry. He cleared it before speaking again, “Did you buy me kneepads?” Tetsurou nodded. Did he hate it? God, Tetsurou could roll over. “Why?”

“You said you needed them. I overheard you with Kenma.” Tetsurou stood up as he took out the cotton from his nose. The nosebleed wasn’t that bad, and the bleeding had already stopped. He tossed them in a trash can before stretching. Tetsurou wanted to get out of there. It seemed like Morisuke hated them, and Tetsurou wasn’t the type of person to visibly show he was upset. He’d rather cry at home in a bed in a ball. 

“Kuroo, wait.” Tetsurou stopped at the door. He stared down at the handle, his hand already on it. There was a quick lip bite before he let go of the door handle before turning to look at the other. Morisuke walked up to him and did something that Tetsurou really didn’t expect. 

He hugged him. His arms wrapped around him and he _hugged_ him. 

“Thank you.” Tetsurou hugged him back. 

“Yeah, no problem. You alright, Yaku?” Morisuke pulled away and made sure that when he did, he had quickly turned around so Tetsurou couldn't see his face. He wiped at his eyes. Was he crying?

“I’m fine. Shut up.”

“Are you crying?”

“I said shut up.”

“Yakkunn!” Tetsurou grinned. He really would take any opportunity to tease him, wouldn’t he? “You’re so soft.”

“Would you--” Morisuke turned and hit him in the shoulder. His face was all red, he had a few tears beginning to well up in his eyes. “Shut up.”

Soft and cute. Tetsurou really thought he was cute. 

Morisuke set the kneepads back in the box, put the lid back on, and set it in his own locker.

“Come on. We need to get back.” He walked past Tetsurou and opened the door. Before he left the locker room, Morisuke looked him dead in the eye. “Tomorrow I’m taking you out to lunch.”

“What? Why?” Tetsurou was caught completely off guard. 

“Because, dumbass, I’m not going to let you buy me something and get away with it.” Morisuke turned, and Tetsurou couldn’t see it, but he had this big, happy, unstoppable grin on his face. He bit his lip. “I’ve been meaning to ask you out for lunch anyway.” Morisuke left the room, door slamming behind him. 

Tetsurou stood there for a few moments in silent trying to process what had just happened. Morisuke gave him a hug, Morisuke cried, Morisuke said--

_‘Wait, what did Yakkun just say?’_

**Author's Note:**

> Watch there be like 10,000 mistakes. I am very tired. I apologize
> 
> Also, first time writing Kuroyaku. Wbk


End file.
